I bid Allison goodbye and decided to head out.
I ran at the wall of our apartment as fast as I could before running straight up it.
I loved this.
I pivoted to the right as I ran up the wall, doing a quick U-Turn. I looked over at the the building next to my apartment. Not yet. I ran a bit farther down my apartment and then made the calculation to jump. I felt my legs leave the side of the building as I flew through the air All Might Style, arms first. I knew I would make it. Before my legs even left the ground, I could sense how much force I needed to apply and what angle to jump. I then curled my legs midair so they faced the other building. I hit it hard but I landed perfectly, as expected. Not missing a beat I continued to run on the side of that building before jumping to a nearby office complex and ran up that one. Eventually, I reached the roof of the office complex and paused for breath.
God, this never got old.
Looked like my sneakers were working.
I looked at them, cream white. These looked like ordinary sneakers but had a hidden trait. I had purchased them only a month or two ago, when I had enough money saved up. These dregs stored kinetic energy as I ran and stuck to surfaces as long as I kept running. For a normal person, these would be useless. Who would want to run alongside buildings if you took one wrong misstep and died?
Good thing I didn't make missteps. I knew exactly how to time my jumps. I could make the midair adjustments in real time that a normal person couldn't.
Thanks to my quirk actually making these useful, I got these at a bargain price. Some engineer was trying to sell them off. Apparently they were branded as impractical.
I caught my breath, lept off the office building and continued, running alongside buildings like a circus acrobat. The sneakers sure made travel much easier and allowed me to escape quickly if needed. Few people would be willing, or able, to pursue me as I leapt from building to building.
I would arrive at the bank early so I took my time, throwing in a flip every once in a while for fun, feeling the air rush through my mask. Eventually, I arrived at what looked to be a pretty small bank that was closed. I ran up a nearby building and crouched on top to weight. Nobody was here.
Was someone seriously planning to rob this? It looked so dinky. Then again, even small banks probably contained a lot of cash. That said, security would be tight, even here. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was dealing with a couple of morons.
I waited about thirty minutes. I began to get bored. I was tempted to lose myself in my thoughts or go on my phone but I knew better. I had to be careful. If any person saw me up here, I would have to leave. Best to keep an eye out. I was so tired from staying up late on my run last night. Allison was right. I needed more sleep.
Soon, a red car pulled up to a corner of the bank parking lot. It looked fairly average, nothing fancy. Looked like whoever drived it wasn't the best driver. The front bumper was smashed.
Soon three figures pulled out, all dressed in costumes. Two boys and one girl. They all looked to be fairly close to my age actually. They were probably in their mid twenties. I was eighteen.
The male had blazing orange hair and wore a costume with flame accents. Jeeze, I wonder what he did? He looked to be the leader of the group. He carried himself like one, being the first to step out.
"All right guys," he whispered, as he opened the front door, "Don't lose your nerve now."
"Who's losing it?" replied a girl in a leather jacket who appeared remarkably underdressed for a villain, "You sound pretty nervous to me."
"Don't mock me!" replied Flame Boy a little too loudly.
"You guys are already arguing?" said a third boy, "Jesus. Let's just get this over with."
I said boy but I really should have said wolf. The third figure had a wolf head and fur. He looked much bigger and muscular than the rest. I kept a special note on him. He looked much more difficult to subdue. I doubt a clock to the head would be enough to knock him out.
"When you have an annoying little brother then you can complain." replied Leather Girl.
"I am not annoying!" replied Flame Boy, "Shut it!"
Wolf Man sighed.
I facepalmed. I had just stumbled upon a bunch of amateurs. They were much too chatty to be seasoned criminals. I had wasted my time! That said, I hadn't reported this yet and I had no other planned events for tonight. I had to go through with this and accept small fish today.
The group moved to the back wall, where the safe room would likely be, which made me curious. Did they have a way to enter from the back? How?
Flame Boy put his hand on the wall.
"Watch and learn." he smirked.
I heard a hiss and the wall began to melt right before my eyes. Solid brick, just melting. That had to be thousands of degrees worth of heat.
The wall melted and cooled in a matter of a few minutes, revealing a person sized hole to the safe room.
"Too easy." the boy bragged to his stunned comrades.
They walked in.
I assessed the situation. So Flame Boy could essentially melt anything he could touch. If he got his hands on me, it would be over. I had no idea what Leather Girl or Wolf Man could do. However, these three were definitely beginners. I doubt they could fight for themselves...maybe.
I ran down the wall of the opposing building and pressed my back to the bank wall before covering the corner of the hole the boy made.
"What were you all worried about?" the boy said as he melted safe boxed and his partners stuffed backpacks full of cash, "We're going to be rich!"
"I admit this is a pretty clean heist." remarked Wolf Man.
"Showoff." groaned Leather Girl, "Let's just get out of here before someone notices the giant hole you put in the wall."
They were fools. Part of me almost felt sorry for them. They didn't know what path they were going down. The path of a villain only leads to pain and suffering.
Luckily, I had those in spades.
I think it was time I taught them a lesson.
I revealed myself and walked into the vault. Casually, as if I were just checking in, not making any attempt at hiding myself. It took the trio a few seconds to realize that someone had just walked in the room.
"What the…!" yeled the girl, "Who the fuck are you!?"
So loud. I hated yelling. I stopped my walking and just stood there, blocking the entrance silently. My mask spoke for itself, with it's wide happy grin.
The trio seemed unsure what to do. I guess they were expecting a hero to just crash through the walls, not some masked person in a hoodie.
"W-Who is this?" stuttered Flame Boy, "W-What do we do?"
"That's the Ghost!" screamed Wolf Man, "That's the freaking Ghost! We have to get out of here!"
Ah, at least one person here knew me. I continued to block the entrance silently, my mask smiling at them.
"Calm yourself." said Leather Girl, "There's three of us and one of her. I don't care who she is, she's dead."
Suddenly, Leather Girl' s fingernails grew at least five times their length and glinted with a bright polish.
Metal. She had claws.
She ran down the room past her stunned comrades, screaming at me. Loud.
I was not scared. In fact, I knew exactly what she was going to do. Along with her screams, I could hear the wind whistle passing her nails. Everything felt as if it were moving in slow motion. I could distinctly see her hand move a few inches, her nails curl a few centimeters. She was going to slash at me with that hand.
No, not her hand.
My hand.
A millisecond later, she clawed at me and I grabbed her hand and twisted.
The girl screamed as I no doubtedly broke her wrist. Using advantage of her loss of concentration, I took my staff and slammed it right into the side of her head, knocking her out immediately.
This all happened in about ten seconds.
The two boys stood, completely at loss for words.
See, it didn't matter if these two had powerful quirks.
My senses are hyperintensified, all the time, ever since I was five years old. It didn't matter what they threw at me, given rough concentration, I could tell what they were about to do before they could even move a muscle.
This wasn't going to be challenging at all.
I rushed towards Wolf Man and Flame Boy. They were terrified. The crazed grin on my mask now was much more threatening. Flame boy went down first. I went at him before he could even register that I was coming for him. His burning quirk, I didn't like it. He has top priority. I didn't need to be burned to a crisp if I failed to evade his hand somehow.
I hit him with two good thwacks to the head, down.
Wolf Man was left. He had heard of me but put on a brave face. Snarling, he struck at me repeatedly to no avail. His technique was noticeably sloppy, relying on brute force. He was muscular though but that didn't matter if he couldn't hit me. I took my staff in a low strike toward his leg, blowing out his kneecap. Wolf Man screamed.
I then took my staff and delivered a stunning blow to his head, not enough to knock out a big guy like him, but just enough to subdue him.
Wolf Man stumbled drunkenly. I smoothly put my staff on my belt, took both of my hands and slammed him against a wall.
He immediately started blubbering like a baby.
"Please!" he cried, "What do you want?! What do you want?!"
I took a few seconds, leaning closer before saying, "Why did you rob this bank?!"
Wolf Man stuttered, "We wanted to make some quick cash! P-Please…!"
I thought hard.
"Allison…" I said in the back of my head, "Look for a mind residing in the bank. He should be the only one here besides me."
I waited a few seconds, waiting for a response until a thought burbled back.
Yes.
Allison wasn't telepathic by any means but she could send simple thoughts and messages. More importantly, she could read minds and I wanted to know if Wolf Man was telling the truth.
"Is he telling the truth?"
No.
Immediately, I wheeled around and slammed Wolf Man on a nearby desk before slamming him against the opposite wall.
"Liar!" I screamed.
Wolf Man was terrified, screaming his head off, bordering on hysterics.
I grabbed his arm, twisting it just enough so he knew that I could very well break it if I wanted to.
"Lie again and this arm's gone!"
I was half bluffing. Truth to be told, this guy was new, this was probably his first ever heist. I had already given him a beating already. That said, I had a reputation to maintain. Heroes scared villains because they were bound by law. I wasn't.
The Ghost relies on psychology to get what she wants. Condition the villains to fear you. Don a scary mask and a scary costume. Stop the crime before it is even committed. Punish a villain for even planning the crime in the first place. Then, beat them to a pulp, leaving the villain to wonder how you found them in the first place...and make them scared to commit another one.
By scaring people to commit crimes, less people commit crimes and less people become villains. That was worth a few broken bones anyday. Plus, bones can heal. However, here are some lines I won't cross. Mutilation and killing to name a few.
That said, yeah, I might break this guy's arm if he starts lying again.
"I...I…" said Wolf Man hesitant.
"Tell me right now!" I yelled.
Suddenly, a message burbled in my head.
Found. Sent. Person. Sent.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Sent. He or she? Sent.
"He was sent?" I asked, "By whom?"
League of Villains.
I immediately became concerned. I had been after them since I started but Allison had never been able to find any of the League's members in her daily, but very random,"browsing". Even Wolf Man was difficult for her to reach. Fortunately, there was only two conscious people in this bank besides me.
That said, this guy was just a novice. What was the League doing sending him? This opportunity was too good. I needed information.
"Why did they send you?!" I yelled in his face, "I know the League of Villains sent you! Why?!"
"T-They…" he began, "they said we could join if we could rob a bank…! So my friends and...I...we…"
So that's why they were stupid enough to rob a bank. It was difficult, an adequate test of skill. Flame Boy's quirk made it significantly easier, however.
"Where are they!?" I screamed.
"I don't know!"
Lie.
I punched him straight across the jaw.
"Lying piece of trash!"
"O-Okay…" he burbled, coughing blood, "T-There was this girl...in...in a bar…blushed a lot...giggled"
"Where?!"
"45th Denverdor Avenue…"
Truth.
That's all I needed. It was Himoko Toga. She was one of the more deadly ones
I got up in his face to the point where my mask pressed against it.
There was nobody here. Only him and me.
"Tell me…" I muttered, "Is this your first heist?"
"Y-Yeah...please...leave me alone!" Wolf Man cied.
Truth.
"Alone?" I whispered, "You were never alone. I was always there with you. I always will be."
Wolf Man was silent, eyes wide with horror.
"Know this…" I cooed, "If you so much as steal a dime or threaten anyone with that quirk, I will find you."
I began to push his head to the wall.
"And when I do, I will dispose of you like the trash you are." I whispered, "I will be watching you."
I then slammed his head against my knee, knocking him out. Wolf Man fell to the floor.
Oh geez, what a mess.
The scene was grotesque. Wolf Man was a miserable wreck, multiple bruises, bleeding lip, and a broken leg. The other two lied sprawled on the floor. Out cold.
I sighed, reaching into my pocket for a few compact handcuffs. These were expensive, much like those precious flashbangs, and drained my limited budget. I reminded myself to learn knot tying sometime soon.
I absentmindedly handcuffed all the villains, letting my mind think of home and Allison. I was already tired. Going home and taking a hot bath at home sounded nice but I had more work to do tonight. I decided to keep the villains where they were, letting the violence of the scene speak for itself. I got out one of my only utility items, the spraypaint can, and spelled out across the bank in giant letters:
Villains in Training
I even opted to spray paint part of my phrase over Wolf Man, for added effect. Excellent.
I felt satisfaction. This was a job well done. I scared three would be villains straight, prevented a robbery, finally gotten a decent lead on the League, and sent a message to other villains that the Ghost is still on the prowl. I felt a bit bad for beating up what were basically college students but I'm sure they would have no lasting injuries besides some broken bones. The message was sent and they would likely never rob a bank again.
The happiness in the world increased and the darkness decreased. Simple as that.
I decided to vacate, heroes would likely be here soon. The Ghost needed to finish up some more of her errands and I didn't need another confrontation with a hero. Last time it got ugly. I believe it was that wood hero, what was his name, Kamui Woods? I remember he cornered me and quite nearly caught me with that arbor quirk of his. He was number eight in the hero rankings, so I imagine capturing a figure such as me would give him quite a boost. It was my fault. I was reckless. I was so disgusted with the fool that I attacked him instead of running away like I should have. His quirk was too difficult for me to avoid, too many vines of wood to avoid. He nearly did me in.
Therefore, it would be best to vacate immediately.
I heard Wolf Man groan. I whistled a tune and headed out. The night was young…
So I hope your getting an idea of how Mia (a.k.a The Ghost) operates. Her quirk allows her to process what's going on around her at superhuman levels. It is based off of how combat works in the Batman Arkham video games. She hates heroes quite a bit and feels she can do their job better. She isn't above violence either, whether it's against a hero or villain.
I'll definitely try to enlighten you with more about Mia's quirk and why she hates heroes so much in future chapters. Let me know what you guys think of this so far in a review.
Fight for all Fiction
-Octoreader